


we'll never be those kids again

by stevetrevvor



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Archie Is Not Okay™, F/F, F/M, Hurt Archie Andrews, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, References to Depression, Sweet Pea Does His Best™, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-08 04:52:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14686875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stevetrevvor/pseuds/stevetrevvor
Summary: when summer starts, everything is fine but as the days go on, archie begins to realize that maybe his actions have fractured his friendships and he's the only one who cares.or, archie is suffering and sweet pea is there





	1. it starts like this

**Author's Note:**

> this is partly au as it's set after the s2 finale except v & a broke up and arch was never arrested
> 
> i wanted to see how sweet pea and archie would interact with each other, and i love both characters so much and i kept thinking about this, so here is a crackship i guess??

when summer starts, everything is fine. archie makes plans with his friends, promising to spend time with jughead and betty, and he even speaks with veronica. things have been awkward since their breakup and archie desperately wishes things would go back to the way they were before. 

archie begins work at the construction site early with his dad. after everything with hiram, things finally seem to be getting better. when archie isn’t working at the construction site, he is fixing the car he bought with his dad or spending time at pop’s with jughead or betty, sometimes both. it feels like betty and jug are attached at the hip most days. he even began writing music; it feels like so long ago that he was agonizing over whether he should play football or perform music. archie feels so naïve to think that his problems were truly problems. 

as time moves on, archie finds he spends less time with his friends, and he doesn’t realize until it’s too late. 

it starts like this: he and his dad finish work unusually late and they’re both exhausted. to help his dad, archie suggests pop’s, hands already reaching for the keys to the truck. his dad smiles a soft, exhausted smile, and archie finds himself smile back. sometimes he wonders how he could be so blind to hiram’s manipulations and side against his father. archie finds himself hating hiram but he finds he hates himself more. as archie walks into pop’s he freezes. 

his friends are sitting at a booth; their faces alight with laughter. archie feels his chest tighten looking at them. jughead looks so happy, his gaze soft as he looks at betty, her hair illuminated to look like a halo. archie can’t see veronica’s face but her hair looks purple under the neon lights of pop’s. archie thinks back on whether he received a text from any of them asking if he’d like to come to pop’s. he didn’t. 

his chest feels cold but he ignores it. he’s been so busy recently; they must have assumed he wouldn’t be able to come. archie turns his head and sees cheryl with the serpents. he smiles when he sees how happy cheryl is with them, especially her girlfriend, toni. he had never really gotten along with cheryl but he’s glad that after everything she’s been through, she is finally happy and has a true family. archie’s eyes catch sight of sweet pea, who is sitting directly faced toward archie. he’s listening intently to what fangs is saying and for only a moment, his eyes dart up and catch onto archie’s. sweet pea’s eyes are so dark and they leave archie’s brown eyes for only a few seconds. sweet pea looks behind archie and archie knows he’s looking at jughead, betty and veronica. 

archie feels embarrassment well up in his chest and he darts over to pop and quickly places his order. archie doesn’t look back at sweet pea but can feel his dark gaze on his back. having ordered, archie leaves and speaks with his friends. they’re surprised to see him and betty invites him to join them. he declines. It feels strange talking to them, like they’re acquaintances rather than friends he’s known for so long. 

when pop announces his order, archie says his goodbyes and flees. 

 

archie walks up the steps in his house, red hair damp and his shirt covered in dirt. it feels like he’s more exhausted these days than not. he sits on his bed, moving the papers with song lyrics scrawled messily and reaches for his phone. 

he looks through his instagram feed and sees a video posted by veronica. he clicks on it and hears her voice as she videos betty and jughead kissing in a pool, cheryl and toni are lying side-by-side, while reggie seems to be having the time of his life flirting with josie. archie startles when ronnie stops moving the camera and focuses on sweet pea; he’s sitting in the pool looking at betty and jughead, a disgusted look on his face. he’s shirtless and water is dripping through his hair. archie realizes with a jolt why he never considered sweet pea to be attractive. then again, he had never really thought of sweet pea. he was a serpent who archie threatened with a gun and then punched in the face. archie can hear ronnie speak and his friends laugh. archie puts the phone on his bed and listens as the video replays. 

archie wonders why they hadn’t invited him. it was true that archie was busy most days but they could have asked him, given him the opportunity to decline. 

sitting in his room, his friends’ laughter in the background, archie has never felt so alone. 

 

it’s later when he’s lying in bed thinking about his friends that it truly starts to hurt. they didn’t invite him, archie thinks. they didn’t want to spend time with him. after everything he’s done, hurt the people he cares about the most – his dad, jughead, betty, veronica. he let hiram control his thoughts, made archie reject the southside, the place his best friend was from. he understands. he’s hurt people and no one should forgive him. no one want to spend time with him. 

there’s something about archie that's wrong. he slept with grundy, a woman who manipulated him… who raped him, and he defended her. he supported hiram, who’s taken control of riverdale and he can’t help but think that’s his fault. everything is his fault. 

archie clenches his fists and wills the tears gathering in his eyes to disappear. i'm only a kid, he thinks. i'm only sixteen. i only wanted to help. 

but the tears fall anyway. 

 

he’s standing outside of pop’s. the diner is bright and archie can see his friends inside. if they’re even his friends anymore. it feels oddly similar to that day he saw them in pop’s when he was getting food for himself and his dad. 

archie remembers the days where he sat with them, laughing and thinking that he is the luckiest person in the world and that everything was okay. maybe it was – before jason, grundy, the blackhood and hiram. but those days where he sat in Pop’s with his friends are long gone. 

“sup, andrews.” a voice says and archie startles. 

it’s sweet pea, he’s leaning against a motorcycle wearing his trademark serpent jacket. 

“missed you at the party. where were you?” sweet pea asks and archie wonders if he’s mocking him. 

sweet pea had been invited but archie hadn’t. surely he knew that. 

“i wasn’t invited.” archie replies and he watches as the smirk on sweet pea’s face falls slightly. 

he didn’t know, archie realizes. he assumed archie didn’t want to come. 

“mantle was invited.” sweet pea says. “guess they only had room for one mutt.” 

it shouldn’t hurt but it does. archie looks away from sweet pea and down at his shoes. they’re worn out and most of the colour is gone. he never cared about his family’s money situation, but now it makes him feel self-conscious. 

“i guess.” Is archie’s reply and he turns away. 

he doesn’t feel as hungry anymore. he told his dad he’d be going to pop’s for lunch before going back to work, but archie decides he’ll go back now. he’ll think of an excuse in the car. 

“where are you heading andrews?” sweet pea’s voice rings out, and archie considers ignoring him. 

“work.” he doesn’t. 

“what, not getting food?” sweet pea asks. 

“i’m not hungry anymore.” 

archie gets into the truck and meets sweet pea’s eyes. he’s looking at archie, face blank and archie wonders what he’s thinking. they only break eye contact when fangs, who is standing in the doorway, calls sweet pea’s name. while driving, archie wonders why sweet pea would care enough to talk to him. his friends certainly don't. 

 

later, his dad calls him and archie makes his way to his father’s side. he sees sweet pea talking to his dad and his dad is laughing at something sweet pea says. when sweet pea looks up and sends archie a deep look, it’s then that archie notices the pop’s bag in sweet pea’s hand. 

sweet pea hands him the bag and archie looks at it, his thoughts wild and uncontrollable. he’s aware of his father and sweet pea looking at him and finally, he smiles. 

to sweet pea, his smile looks like the sun.


	2. mid verse.

it’s strange, archie thinks, this dynamic he has with sweet pea. they’re not friends, but they’re not quite acquaintances either. most days, archie wakes to find sweet pea in his kitchen eating food and talking to his dad. fred andrews doesn’t seem to mind, and archie doesn't either. 

sweet pea doesn’t like northsiders, and archie doesn’t think he’ll ever like them. but he doesn’t seem to mind archie and it’s obvious sweet pea likes fred a lot.

some days sweet pea will join archie at the construction site and others he’ll sit in the andrews living room playing video games. they rarely talk. but the quiet seems to suit this dynamic that the boys have. spending time with sweet pea numbs the loneliness, but when he leaves, the loneliness returns two-fold. 

 

the middle of summer brings a heat wave, which causes fred andrews to close the construction site. archie spends those times writing song lyrics and playing his guitar. in these moments he finds himself thinking of betty and jughead and veronica. the songs he writes are sadder now, full of grief and melancholy. it takes him a while to realize that the dark eyes described in one of his songs don’t belong to veronica. 

archie is standing in front of the bathroom mirror, and he’s looking at himself. he remembers a time where he was nothing, just some kid who would play with betty and jughead. he wasn’t popular or good at football. he was nothing. he thinks he should go back to being nothing again. 

you're nothing, his mind whispers. your friends don’t like you. they hate you. 

no, he wants to say. but he’s never been a liar. 

sweet pea feels sorry for you. he doesn’t care about you. he hates you, just like everyone else.

archie looks at himself in the mirror and clenches his fists. 

you’re nothing. 

he shatters the mirror with his fist. 

he can hear his father running up the stairs calling his name. he doesn’t feel anything. only the tears streaming down his face and the sting of glass. 

his father sees the glass littered across the bathroom, blood in the sink and his son crying on the floor. fred ignores the blood and the glass; he holds his son in his arms and he feels as though he’s been shot. his son is hurting and he didn’t know. he gathers his son and helps him down the stares. they need to go to the hospital. 

later, archie will say he doesn’t remember going to the hospital or the doctor removing glass from his hand. it isn’t a lie. but he does remember walking out of the hospital and seeing sweet pea pacing anxiously. he stops when he sees them and he focuses on archie. sweet pea walks slowly towards them and archie suddenly feels intimidated. sweet pea is tall, taller than archie. archie hasn’t felt small in years, but suddenly he feels like a little kid again, looking up at his much taller father, admiration in his eyes. 

sweet pea halts and his eyes sweep over archie. there’s concern in those dark eyes. 

“sup, andrews,” he says. “you had me worried for a second.” 

“sorry,” achie replied, feeling guilt well in his stomach. he can’t do anything right. 

sweet pea punches his arm. it feels like sweet pea wants to say more but he doesn’t have the words to say anything else. 

his dad places a comforting hand on his shoulder and asks sweet pea if he’d like to have dinner with them. sweet pea accepts. 

sweet pea follows closely behind on his motorcycle and archie listens to the rumble of it behind him. archie wonders, if he asked, if sweet pea would let him ride his motorcycle. 

 

it’s later when they fight that leaves archie feeling confused and even more vulnerable. 

sweet pea has always had a temper. archie remembers jughead talking about a serpent that was set off at the smallest of things. archie had seen sweet pea furious at him, but this was different. 

he’s yelling at archie. asking him how he could be stupid enough to shatter glass with his fist. 

i just wanted to feel, he wants to say. but he doesn’t. 

sweet pea is asking how archie could act like his problems are anything compared to the problems the southside face. 

you’re right, archie wants to say. but everything still hurts. 

“why do you care?” archie asks instead. sweet pea’s reply is short and his voice is cold. 

“because i care about you.”

archie stills and sweet pea looks shocked, like he hadn’t meant to say those words. like he’d never expected to say those words, especially to archie andrews. archie wants to say something, anything. but he doesn’t get the chance. 

sweet pea flees. 

 

when archie hears the doorbell, he doesn’t know whom he was expecting, but cheryl and toni were certainly not what he expected. 

toni smiles softly and asks if they can come inside. he nods and opens the door wider for them to enter. cheryl is wearing her red serpents jacket, and archie finds it amusing that she was able to get a red one. he wouldn’t expect differently. 

having toni and cheryl in his house leaves him confused but there is a yearning for the closeness he felt with his friends; yearning that feels like there is a hole in his heart. having sweet pea around caused the yearning to disappear. but since their fight, the hole in his heart feels raw and bleeding. he didn’t know that it would hurt this much. he wonders when he started to feel so reliant on sweet pea. 

archie stands in the kitchen and watches cheryl and toni flitter around. cheryl is lively and joyful, and she looks at toni like she is the moon and the stars. and toni looks at cheryl like she is the sun, warm and bright. he wonders if anyone had ever looked at him like that, wonders if anyone ever will. 

as they eat the pasta the girls cooked, toni asks him if he is okay. he feels a lump in his throat. 

no, he wants to say. i'm alone and my friends don’t want me anymore. sweet pea hates me. 

archie marvels at when the thought of sweet pea hating him has started to hurt more than his friends not caring about him. 

but he doesn’t say anything. he only smiles and nods. 

toni furrows her brow and gives him a gentle look. it’s so lovely and kind that archie can feel his resolve weaken. 

when cheryl leans over and takes his hand gently, he promptly bursts into tears. 

he asks toni why her and cheryl came over, later that day. they’re setting up space in the living room for cheryl and toni to sleep. after he cried, toni and vheryl insisted on staying with him. he couldn't change their minds, even if he wanted to. 

“sweet pea.” She says. “he told us about your fight. said you weren’t doing very well. that you needed someone.”

archie looks at his hands and feels a smile tug at the corners of his lips. sweet pea cared. despite their fight, he cared enough to talk to toni and cheryl. 

“what about jughead?” he finds himself asking before he can stop himself. 

"sweets didn’t tell jughead anything.” toni says. “i don’t think jughead knows you two are spending time together.” 

he’s curious. he wonders why sweet pea wouldn’t tell jughead that they’re spending time together. his chest tightens and his thoughts start to whirl. 

he’s ashamed to spend time with you. he doesn’t want the serpents to know. 

no. he thinks, shutting himself down. sweet pea does care. even after their fight, sweet pea cared enough about archie to ask cheryl and toni to see him. 

his chest eases. 

 

it gets easier. when he’s not at the construction site, he’s spending time with cheryl and toni. toni will sometimes help with the car and fred is ecstatic that archie has been inviting friends over. cheryl likes to go through his closet and throw out the clothes she doesn’t like and recommend he wear certain articles of clothing more often because they’re nice. he agrees if only to appease her. 

sometimes he’ll play them some of his music and cheryl makes him write a song the three of them can sing together. again, he agrees. 

when he sings cheryl and toni one song he has been working on, toni holds his hand and smiles. 

“it’s about sweet pea, isn’t it?” toni asks him. 

he doesn’t answer, but his shy smile tells the girls everything they need to know. 

 

they’re sitting in the living room, he, his dad, cheryl and toni. they’re arguing over which movie to watch and why. archie doesn’t mind what movie they watch. he’s happy to watch anything, as long as his dad, cheryl and toni are with him. archie hears a knock on the door and moves to answer it. he misses cheryl and toni’s look. 

when he opens the door, he stops. sweet pea is standing in front of him, a black eye on his face. archie touches it gently and looks sweet pea in the eye. they haven’t seen each other since their fight. 

archie removes his hand from sweet pea’s face and opens the door for him to enter. sweet pea enters and archie listens to his father greet sweet pea cheerfully. the girls ask sweet pea which movie they would watch and he agrees with the movie fred recommended. 

archie smiles.


	3. interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sweet pea's point of view

sweet pea doesn’t expect to see andrews at pop’s. he doesn’t care about the redhead but betty had complained about the amount of time andrews was spending working at his dad’s construction site. 

sweet pea is in pop’s when he sees andrews for the first time since summer began. he’s with toni, cheryl and fangs. He ignores the jingle of the bell signalling someone has entered pop’s and continues to listen to the story fangs is telling. 

it’s an accident when he looks up and his eyes meet andrews. 

andrews is confused and he looks lost. sweet pea watches andrews, his dark eyes on andrews’ brown ones. sweet pea had never seen andrews look this way. he’s not sure that he likes it. 

sweet pea looks behind andrews and realization dawns on him. jughead, betty and veronica lodge are sitting at pop’s and andrews hadn’t known. he feels something for andrews in that moment but he doesn’t know what it is that he feels. 

he keeps his eyes on andrews until finally, andrews leaves. 

 

sweet pea was invited to a party hosted by veronica lodge. he looks around the pool and the expensive backyard, and he doesn’t think he’s been to anything like this place. 

“where’s andrews?” sweet pea finds himself asking, and jughead doesn’t even glance his way. 

“he’s not coming.” jughead replies and sweet pea scoffs. 

he thinks he’s too good to hang out with a bunch of serpents, sweet pea thinks. he may have helped them a few times, but in the end, he’s a northsider. 

“whatever.” sweet pea says. 

he doesn’t care about some northsider who helps them, then doesn’t even spend time with his friends. 

 

it’s days after the party that he sees andrews. he doesn’t notice sweet pea as he leaves his car and begins to walk towards pop’s. when andrews sees something, he freezes. 

sweet pea's eyes follow andrews’ line of sight. 

huh. 

jughead, betty and veronica are sitting in pop’s laughing and talking. sweet pea doesn’t get why andrews is looking at them, his face pale and mouth slightly open. sweet pea intends to find out. 

“sup, andrews.” He says, and andrews is startled. 

“missed you at the party. where were you?” sweet pea asks, wanting to find out why he hadn’t come. 

“i wasn’t invited.” andrews replies and sweet pea can feel his smirk fade slightly. 

he’s surprised. he had assumed that andrews hadn’t wanted to come to the party. there’s something on andrews’ face that causes sweet pea to feel bad. he doesn’t know why andrews wasn’t invited. he’s Jughead’s best friend, right? so why is andrews alone while jughead, betty and veronica are inside pop’s together and happy? 

“mantle was invited.” he says, slightly mocking. “guess they only had room for one mutt.” 

“i guess.” is andrews’ reply. 

he sees andrews turn away and walk towards his truck. he’s leaving. 

“where are you heading andrews?” sweet pea asks, loud enough for andrews to hear but not the others in pop’s. 

“work.” andrews says. 

“what, not getting food?” sweet pea asks. 

“i’m not hungry anymore.” andrews says before entering the car and driving away. there’s something about the way andrews acted that makes sweet pea feel bad. isn’t that a hilarious thought? a serpent feeling bad for a bulldog. 

but then he remembers what andrews did before summer started. 

he remembers andrews had let the serpents stay at his house. he didn’t need to but he did. he also supported the serpent students and persuaded weatherbee to not transfer them. sweet pea looks back at pop’s and makes up his mind. 

he figures he owes andrews anyway. 

 

he doesn’t remember when “andrews” had become “archie”. he can’t find it in himself to care. 

 

they’re sitting on the carpet in archie’s living room. sweet pea is playing a video game while archie is completing work for principal weatherbee. he isn’t sure exactly what it is but he knows it has something to do with archie being student body president. 

“i voted for you, you know.” sweet pea says and is surprised by his own admission. 

“what?” archie asks, looking at him with his soft brown eyes. 

“student body president. i voted for you.” he clarifies, continuing to play the video game. 

he can’t bring himself to look at archie. 

“why?” There’s confusion in archie’s voice and sweet pea sighs. 

for someone who’s student body president, he sure can be dumb. 

“you helped the serpents.” sweet pea says, attempting to be nonchalant. “you gave us shelter when we had no where else to go.” 

archie is looking at him, his brow is furrowed and his face is gentle. he doesn’t understand why jughead, betty and veronica stopped spending time with him. 

“you fought to keep us at riverdale high. you didn’t have to, but you did.” sweet pea continues. 

don’t you get it? sweet pea wants to say. you’re a good person. you’re amazing. i wish i’d seen it earlier. 

he doesn’t say any of those things. he isn’t strong enough. 

“that’s why i voted for you.” 

archie looks vulnerable but sweet pea can’t comfort him. he has never been good at feelings. sweet pea continues to play the video game and attempts to ignore his racing heart. 

it doesn’t work. 

 

when mr. andrews calls sweet pea telling him about archie, he feels scared. he goes to the hospital as quickly as he can and waits impatiently outside. 

 

there’s something about archie andrews that makes sweet pea’s heart race. makes him want to help archie and kill anyone who has tried to hurt him. he never thought he’d feel like this. 

he turns to face them when he archie and mr. andrews leave the hospital. archie’s hand is wrapped up and he looks paler than usual. sweet pea finds himself stalking towards archie to take a closer look at the redhead. as he looks at archie, he feels his fear turn to anger. 

this is what causes him to lash out. 

he’s yelling at archie but he doesn’t remember what he’s saying. he doesn’t think he wants to. 

“why do you care?” archie asks and it makes him angrier. 

why does he care? archie has the nerve to ask him that?

“because i care about you.” sweet pea shouts and immediately stops. 

he hadn’t meant to say that. he had never really thought about it. if he cared about archie. it wasn’t something he thought he needed or wanted to think about. he could quite bring himself to believe that he had told archie that he cares about him. he didn’t think he’d ever care about that redhead. 

sweet pea doesn’t think he’s ever run away so fast in his life. 

 

he’s so furious that he gets into a fight with a ghoulie. he’s angry but it’s not archie that he’s angry with. it’s himself. 

he’s not surprised when he sees he has a blackeye. it seems like recently he has one every other week. 

jughead yells at him about getting into fights, especially with ghoulie’s. sweet pea snaps back at his king. he and jones were never friends; they supported each other because they were both serpents and now jughead is the king. he can’t help but think it’s a joke. jughead is young and fp was an idiot to give the title to a sixteen year old. but sweet pea will never say it out loud. 

his thoughts go back to archie, even when he doesn’t want them to. he’s worried about that stupid redheaded jock. he finds himself thinking about his mother when he thinks about archie. he knows archie is suffering, he recognizes the signs. maybe that’s why he found himself spending time with archie. he couldn’t save his mother, so maybe he can save someone else from the pain that she went through. 

he can’t see archie. not after their fight. so he tells cheryl and toni to see archie at least once. 

he doesn’t expect the girls to keep going back. 

 

he looks up at the andrews residence from his position in front of his bike. he remembers the first time he came here, after archie pulled a gun on him. sweet pea hated that entitled northsider. 

but now he thinks he cares about archie as much as he cares about fangs and toni. slowly, sweet pea walks up to the house and knocks on the door. 

there’s sound beyond the door and it makes sweet pea anxious. 

it finally opens. archie is surprised to see him and sweet pea understands. he wasn’t sure if he wanted to see archie again. archie touches the bruise on his face and he resists flinching away. his touch is gentle and sweet pea struggles against closing his eyes at the touch. when archie opens the door and lets him in, sweet pea feels warm. 

he knows that he doesn’t want to be anywhere else. 

 

mr. andrews is helping sweet pea with baseball. the season will be starting after school comes back and sweet pea wants to join the team. archie had recommended football, but he thinks that’s archie’s sport and if he has to spend hours with mantle, he might just commit a murder. 

mr. andrews is like the father sweet pea has always wanted, and he should feel jealous that archie has what sweet pea wants. 

but he can’t bring himself to. 

mr. andrews thinks sweet pea has potential and he grins. he can hear toni and cheryl talking, but he startles when he hears bright laughter. he turns and sees archie, his head is thrown back and his mouth is wide open. cheryl is giggling and toni is smiling brightly. 

sweet pea looks back at archie. 

the sun hits archie’s bright red hair, making his hair look like flames. sweet pea has never seen anyone as beautiful as him.


	4. it ends like this

summer is ending and hermione lodge decides to throw a social event. toni and cheryl are preparing at the andrews house, while sweet pea insists he isn’t coming. archie thinks it would be more bearable if he was there, but at least he has toni and cheryl. 

when the girls walk down the stairs, both archie and fred are quick to compliment them. they both look beautiful and they look perfect together. it doesn’t take them long to arrive at the event. 

archie is nervous as he stands in the open space. tables are lined up with assortments of edibles. many older teenagers and the adults of riverdale are in attendance. he’s nervous to see veronica, betty and jughead. he wonders what he’ll say to them. 

“don’t fiddle with the suit.” cheryl scolds, looking at him. 

archie flinches at her tone and she immediately softens. he’s surprised that he had flinched. he had been better recently - spending time with his dad, sweet pea, cheryl, and toni. 

“you look great.” she whispers gently. 

he’s in a dark navy suit that cheryl had bought for him. he had said he’d pay her back, but she insisted he shouldn’t. he will anyway. 

the girls take the initiative and walk forward. he follows closely behind as they weave through people, some he recognizes from school. archie looks around and his eyes land on betty. she’s looking at him, her mouth open slightly and her face pale. she’s surprised to see him. 

have i changed? he thinks. do you recognize me? or are you surprised at the company I keep?

she looks beautiful. her blonde hair is down and looks longer than it had been only two months ago and she is wearing a pale blue dress. she is beautiful, but then again, she is the serpent queen. 

cheryl calls his name and he quickens his pace. he doesn’t want to lose them. the girls are talking in low voices, too low for him to hear. 

 

when he sees sweet pea, his heart races. 

he’s wearing a suit, he thinks. sweet pea is the most attractive person in riverdale. no one comes close. 

he’s standing with fangs, his face twisted into confusion as he looks around. he doesn’t know what he should be doing. it occurs to archie that the southside would never have held anything like this. he’s not sure if it makes him sad or jealous.

when sweet pea sees him, he speaks to fangs and begins striding toward archie. 

seeing him coming over causes archie to feel anxious. he isn’t prepared for this

“i thought you weren’t coming.” archie says, smiling. 

sweet pea smirks. 

“couldn’t turn down the opportunity. who would want to miss this?” sweet pea replies as he gestures around them. 

archie thinks back on the times where he went to events like this. he always complained but would stop the moment he found betty. jughead never went to them. he hadn’t understood as a child, but he did when he grew older. jughead was the son of a serpent. northsiders didn’t trust serpents. 

except for me, his mind whispers. 

“i hated these things.” he finds himself saying. sweet pea is looking at him. 

“they were always annoying events i had to do on the occasional sunday.” archie says. 

“i only stopped complaining when i found betty.” he continues, he’s unaware that his voice goes soft. 

“we’d play together and run away from our parents’ when they tried to find us.” 

it’s strange to think about these memories. they feel like a world away.

“i asked betty to marry me.” sweet pea freezes and his eyes search archie’s face. 

archie tells him the story about the second grade. how he had trouble reading and betty tutored him every day. how he kissed her and asked her to marry him. 

“I think…” he says. “some part of me always thought…”

“you and the queen would get together?” sweet pea asks and his voice betrays nothing. 

“not now, not anymore.” archie retorts. “there’s someone else…” 

he stops. he can’t say anything else. not to sweet pea. what he feels for sweet pea is unlike anything he’s ever felt. he didn’t feel it with grundy, or valerie, or even veronica, who he had been in love with. it’s something else, something greater. 

archie doesn’t say anything else and sweet pea doesn’t pry. 

“you look good.” sweet pea says instead. he’s looking at archie intently and archie knows his face is as red as his hair. 

he’s about to reply when he sees betty again. she’s standing with veronica and jughead. they’re looking at him. at sweet pea. he wonders what they’re thinking. 

“ignore them.” sweet pea says and archie looks back at him. “don’t look at them.”

“they’re not the ones i want to look at.” archie says and he’s surprised at himself, but knows its true. 

sweet pea says nothing, but he smiles.

and archie is fascinated. he has rarely seen sweet pea smile. when he smiles, he looks extraordinary. 

the girls and fangs joins them. fangs doesn’t seem surprised to see him and archie figures that sweet pea has told him. 

 

archie looks up when he hears frantic knocking on the door. he’s still in his suit but his tie is off and his hair is messy. archie looks at the others – sweet pea, fangs, cheryl and toni. his dad’s in the kitchen making food for everyone and archie stands up. he has no idea who could possibly be at the door. 

when he opens the door, he stops. 

it’s betty, jughead and veronica. he should have known. 

“what are you guys doing here?” archie asks and he steels himself. 

seeing them hurts but he can’t crumble. he won’t. 

“what is going on, arch?” betty asks, looking at him gently. 

archie clenches his jaw and doesn’t reply. he knows what this is about. the serpents in his living room. 

he doesn’t need to tell them anything. 

“what are you doing with them?” ronnie asks him and he suddenly feels angry. 

“what am i doing with them?” he’s angry and they know it. “they’re my friends. like you used to be.”

he sees betty flinch and he feels his anger disappearing. 

“arch…” she says and attempts to hold him. 

he moves out of her reach and shakes his head. 

“man, we haven’t seen you all summer and now you’re friends with my serpents?” jughead asks and archie can hear the disbelief in his voice. 

“what’s going on?” a voice says and archie turns to see sweet pea approaching them. fangs, toni and cheryl are following behind him. 

archie feels braver and can feel his temper rise again. 

“you haven’t seen me all summer?” archie asks, voice rising. “you’re the one’s that stopped talking to me.” 

“you were the one’s who stopped inviting me. that was you, not me.” 

“we thought you wouldn’t come.” betty says. she looks upset. 

“did you?” he doesn’t mean to sound so harsh. “you could have asked, instead of left me alone, wondering if you cared about me at all.” 

jughead steps forward and pushes archie back. he stumbles but regains his balance quickly. 

archie hears a loud “hey!” and knows it belongs to sweet pea. 

“don’t talk to betty like that.” jughead utters. 

archie steps forewards and so does jughead. they have always been different, him and jughead. from their appearances to their personality and interests. but they had always made it work. 

“please, stop.” betty begs and they both look at her. she’s devastated and tears are gathering in her eyes. 

archie sighs and steps back. fighting isn’t going to help anything. 

“maybe if you hadn’t sided with hiram lodge against your own friends, we’d still want to be friends with you.” jughead said. he was angry, and archie knew jughead didn’t mean those words. 

“jughead.” both betty and veronica scolded. they looked shocked at his words.

the words hurt but jughead wasn’t wrong. sweet pea didn’t seem to think the same. 

he moved past archie and stood in the doorway. he towered over jughead, still wearing his suit from the social event. 

“you’re my king, jones.” sweet pea says, his voice cold. “don’t make me punch you.” 

“sweet pea, don’t.” archie says quickly. he doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. not because of him. not anymore. 

“i thought you hated northsiders, sweet pea.” jughead exclaims. he looks and sounds confused. it reminds archie of himself when he and sweet pea first started spending time together. 

“i do.” sweet pea says. "just not this one.” 

behind sweet pea, archie smiles.

“seriously?” veronica asks, looking incredulous. “you, the serpent who hates the northsiders the most, likes archie andrews, the definition of the ‘boy next door’?” 

“yeah.” he’s looking at veronica like she’s an idiot and she bristles. 

betty interrupts before it escalates and veronica punches sweet pea. 

“stop.” she says. “just stop.” 

betty took a deep breath and turned to archie. it’s deathly silent and involuntarily, he holds his breath. 

“arch… the reason we stopped calling or texting is because of you.” 

it’s a harsh blow and archie flinches. they’re all looking at him, but he only looks at Betty. 

“you’ve been through a lot and we knew you needed time to figure out who you are. what you want.” 

he’s confused and he doesn’t understand. 

“time? you think i needed time?” archie is the one who’s incredulous now. 

“i needed my friends. i needed you and you weren’t there.” archie says. his voice is rising and he begins to feel frantic. 

“i’ve been wondering why you weren’t calling or texting. why you weren’t inviting me to pop’s or to parties.” he takes a deep breath and tries to calm down. 

“i thought there was something wrong with me.” tears are stinging his eyes and Bbtty attempts to hold him, but he flinches away. “i thought you hated me. i thought that after everything I’ve done, you didn’t want to see me.”

“and you know what the worst part is?” archie asks. “i believed it. i believed that there was something wrong with me. that no one cared about me.”

“you didn’t do anything!” archie shouts. jughead looks guilty but betty and veronica look close to tears. 

“arch, i’m sorry.” betty says, her voice pleading. 

he looks at her, at jughead and veronica. at sweet pea. he’s looking at archie and archie looks back. there is no point in yelling at her, or at them. he’s tired of fighting. all he’s done since that day in pop’s when he father was shot is fight. he needs to let that anger go. 

“i know.” he whispers. “betty, i’m sorry.” 

he looks at jughead and veronica. 

“i’m sorry.” he says to them. “you need to leave. i don’t want to see any of you.”

with that he runs past betty, veronica and jughead, ignoring everyone’s calls. ignoring sweet pea’s calls. he doesn’t look back. 

he runs as fast as he can. his heart is pounding and his head feels light. he doesn’t stop, not until he reaches sweet water river. he looks out at the water and sinks down. 

he sits on the ground and cries. his thoughts are overwhelming and all he does is cry. his father used to say that crying made you feel better. in this moment, he hopes that it’s true. 

it’s still light when he hears the rumble of a motorbike. he has a feeling he knows who it is. 

he can hear the crunch of footsteps and looks behind. sweet pea stands before him, still wearing his black suit. like archie, his tie is gone. archie realizes he misses sweet pea’s serpent jacket. 

“i thought… i thought i was better.” archie says. sweet pea moves and crouches before him. he is looking at Archie. 

the look on sweet pea’s face makes archie feel sadder. he has never seen sweet pea look that sad. archie knows it’s because of him. 

“you are.” sweet pea says. “it’s them. they didn’t have to come here.”

“they have no right to ask those questions.” sweet pea is saying. “to leave you alone and then question who you’re friends with.”

archie shakes his head. 

“are you though?” he asks. “are you my friends?” 

“how can you ask that?” there is harshness to sweet pea’s words. 

“everyone at your house loves you.” sweet pea says. “i love you.” 

archie looks at him and feels some of the grief leave him. they love him. there are people in this world who love him, enough to not leave him alone. his eyes trace sweet pea’s face. his dark hair is slightly curled at the front and his eyes are so dark. archie can see the serpent tattoo on his neck. this boy loves him. 

“you love me?” archie wants to hear it again. he wants to be certain. 

“yes. i love you.” he doesn’t even hesitate when he answers. 

archie leans forward and presses their foreheads together. he closes his eyes and finally smiles. 

“i love you, too.” he whispers and pulls away. 

it’s sweet pea that looks vulnerable now. his brow is furrowed and his mouth open. archie wants to kiss him. 

archie doesn’t know how long they sit like this for - archie sitting on the ground and sweet pea crouching opposite him. when sweet pea shifts, archie looks at him again. sweet pea is already looking at him. 

“what is it about you, archie andrews?” sweet pea whispers and leans forward. 

he kisses archie gently but there’s passion behind it. archie knows what love feels like. he knows that this is it. 

he doesn’t want this to end. he wants to be with sweet pea now, and always. 

 

it ends like this: a tall boy with dark hair and eyes, who wears a serpent jacket presses a kiss to another boy’s forehead tenderly. this other boy has flaming red hair and he is wearing a riverdale bulldogs uniform. he practically glows with happiness. 

“kick their asses, babe.” sweet pea says and archie nods. he then smiles, bright and joyful, before turning and jogging towards the field. 

he has a football game to win against baxter high and he’s not planning on losing. his dad is in the crowd, so is sweet pea. toni and cheryl are cheering for him and archie can’t remember the last time he has felt this truly happy. a voice shouts his name and he turns. his eyes find jughead. he is standing beside betty and veronica. he looks strong, but there is uncertainty in his eyes. he doesn't know if archie wants to see them again. if archie can forgive them for the hurt they caused. 

archie looks at them and he thinks back on the times he had with them. the good and the bad. they were his friends once, three of the most important people in his life. archie knows he is always going to care about them. they had thought they were doing the right thing, but he can’t trust them, not yet. archie catches jughead’s eyes and nods. 

it feels like the beginning and the end of everything.

**Author's Note:**

> i liked writing cheryl and toni because they're amazing and honestly? i love them together,, i think toni would want to help archie since she's a compassionate person and can see when others are hurting. i also think cheryl is becoming more compassionate in the series and well, she has known archie their whole lives. i think cheryl remembers how archie did save her life at the end of season one and she does want to help him
> 
> both archie and sweet pea are so different that i can't help but think that they would either clash or get along amazingly


End file.
